A philosophical justification for a realist approach to strategic alliance research

In a comparison to the more commonly adopted philosophical extremes of positivism or grounded theory, this paper presents the case for the adoption of a realist perspective to strategic alliance research. Using previous research conducted into the drivers of internal co‐operative and competitive intent within alliances, the paper outlines the benefits of combining both deductive and inductive methods. It argues that this approach provides an appropriate basis for the interpretation of research in this field whilst also acting as a springboard for further investigation into the exploratory areas that arise from it.